Pompeii travels across time to Seattle in 2015

No, not that ridiculous movie, nor the insanely catchy pop song by Bastille. This is “Pompeii: The Exhibition,” coming to Pacific Science Center in Seattle from Feb. 7-May 25, 2015. The traveling exhibit includes artifacts on loan from the institutions in Italy that excavated them, such as frescoes, coins, altars, gladiator helmet and plaster casts of the Pompeii inhabitants, frozen in time where they fell during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

A refresher: The prosperous city of Pompeii, Italy, was buried by volcanic eruption in the summer of 79 A.D. Everything in the city — even fleeing men, women, children and animals — lay covered for centuries under nearly 10 feet of ash and pumice. The layers upon layers also preserved buildings, furniture, even everyday objects, such as spoons, giving the modern world amazing insight into daily life long ago. People started poking around Pompeii in the 16th century or so, and many artworks were removed or damaged in the 17oos. By the latter half of the 19th century, a big portion of the city had been rediscovered and the tourists started flocking to it.

The Seattle area is home to a vibrant arts scene — there's always something going on in theaters, concert halls, galleries, museums. How to keep up? ArtsPage will showcase work by some of The Seattle Times' expert fine-arts writers, to help you navigate local art offerings. We'll include news, observations, images, humor, links and ways for you to join the conversation, too. Email the editors